End of Watch December 27, 1914
Agency Seattle Police Department
County King County
During the morning hours of Sunday, December 27, 1914 Patrolman Arthur Ruckart of the Seattle Police Department responded to the area of the 2000 block of West 61st Street for the report of prowlers. Upon arriving at the back porch of 2039 West 61st Street he entered the backyard to talk with a man standing on his back porch by the name of Wilfred Bagley.
As he entered the backyard, Bagley raised his shotgun and fired at Patrolman Ruckart. He returned fire, hitting Bagley in the nose. Patrolman Ruckart was transported to Providence Hospital and went into surgery. Bagley mistook Patrolman Ruckart for a prowler. He said it was unclear who the man was that entered his backyard through a gate and explained that Patrolman Ruckart’s uniform didn’t easily identify him.
An initial surgery to transfuse blood was successful, but he died on the operating table at about 2130 hours when they attempted to amputate his leg.
Patrolman Ruckart served the Seattle Police Department for 18 months.
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